Milestones in China's pro-democracy movement

14/07/2017

Human rights advocates, pro-democracy activists and government leaders around the globe expressed sorrow over the death of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and urged the Chinese government to let his wife do something he wasn't allowed to: leave the country.

Liu suffered multiple organ failure, the Shenyang Bureau of Justice said late Thursday on its website.

He and his wife Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest for almost seven years, had repeatedly appealed to Beijing to allow him to seek treatment overseas in his final days.

Yu says Liu was especially good at debunking Chinese intellectuals who claimed to be liberals.

In 2010, Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his struggle to seek political reforms in China. (I last spoke to him shortly before his arrest in 2008; State Security cut the phone connection after I identified myself.) China under Xi is less free than China was 20 years ago.

"Human rights are a priority of French diplomacy all over the world and, because of that, this issue is part of our dialogue with China", Le Drian added.

The Norwegian Nobel committee cited his "his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China" in its citation for the award. His wife, Liu Xia has been under house arrest since then.

He was found guilty on December 25, 2009 of "engaging in agitation activities, such as the spreading of rumors and defaming of the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialist system" and handed an 11-year jail term, which he served mostly in Liaoning, far from his Beijing-based friends and family.

The Nobel Peace Prize - awarded to Liu in absentia in 2010 - made him China's most prominent political prisoner, infuriated Beijing and fueled an worldwide outcry for his release.

"Liu Xiaobo and his family have requested that the remainder of his care be provided in Germany or the United States", Joseph M Herman of the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center and Markus Büchler of the University of Heidelberg said in a joint statement.

"Liu Xiaobo was not a criminal", Ai told Reuters in his Berlin studio.

Liu, China's most famous political dissident, died during medical parole while serving a prison sentence for trying to overthrow the government.

In a document written on the day of his trial titled "I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement", Liu said, "I hope that I will be the last victim of China's endless literary inquisitions and that from now on, no one will be incriminated because of speech".

"No one was as active as he was, and no one had so much social interaction with the young people", Yu said.

He was the second person to receive the award while in prison - the other was the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won in 1935 while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp.

Liu's supporters who have managed to arrive in the city were either being watched or warned against taking any action.

Three-times podium finisher Nairo Quintana of Colombia also struggled, losing 1:15 to Froome and his group. Richie Porte climbing the Grand Colombier with the yellow jersey group prior to his crash on Sunday.

The president is just trying to be helpful if at all possible", she said, calling the situation "heartbreaking". The parents had said earlier that they expected doctors to end life support for their child last Friday.

He has been touring with The New Orleans Jazz Band and tickets for the performance have been selling for as high as $200. Allen, who has denied abusing Dylan Farrow , later married Mia Farrow's adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn.

During the sale, The Rift and the Touch controller are being offered for $400 in a set instead of the usual $600. Today, we're excited to announce that Rift + Touch are now available at $399 for a limited time.

The Fed has raised rates three times in the past six months, but that hasn't necessarily led to higher borrowing costs this year. At the June meeting, the Fed gave a clear outline of its plan this year to reduce its portfolio but gave no precise timing.

After eight stages of the 21-stage Tour, the top 10 riders in the overall standings are all still close to each other. Dan is now fourth overall at 25 seconds, so there is the possibility we could have an Irishman in yellow by Sunday.

Nitish Kumar also downplayed his earlier comments holding the Congress responsible for the "current mess" in the opposition ranks. Kumar was emphatic that his party had been following the coalition dharma and would always follow it.

Palestinians have long lived under harsh restrictions in the city, which is one of the starkest symbols of the Israeli occupation. The resolution was passed , said Haley, "despite protests by the United States, Israel and other countries".

History buff and retired federal agent Les Kinney says he found the "misfiled" photo in the National Archives , per People . The program also weighs in on the possibility that the USA government may have covered up the photo .

Last week's drop in a weekly count of USA rigs by Baker Hughes came after a record 23-straight weeks of rises. Front-month NYMEX WTI futures averaged $48.18/barrel in the second quarter, versus $51.82 in Q1.

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